Root and Shoot
Scripture Reading: Psalm 82; Isaiah 11-14; Galatians 2
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit… Isaiah 11:1 -
While Isaiah is clear about the darkness that would descend upon the remnant people of God, he continually casts it in terms of hopefulness; a Royal Messiah would come. To make clear who this Messiah would be, Isaiah gives identifying markers so that no mistake could be made. Here, in Isaiah 11, the prophet ties the Messiah to the Davidic line.
While that part is clear, there are some remarkable features to be noted.
First, the Davidic linage would be cut off first and seem to be all but dead. The tree becomes a stump. This metaphor lets us know that something dramatic has happened, that someone has felled the tree of David’s kingly line and, as far as appearances go, seems to have been lost to the dustbin of history.
Second, Isaiah references Jesse, David’s father, not David himself. This unexpected reference is meant to show us that this Royal Messiah would not merely be a descendant of David, but another David. Throughout the Old Testament kingly record, all the kings were measured by David, but none of them are called a David or a son of Jesse. David alone was the son of Jesse. So, Isaiah is letting us know that there is something more going on here.
Finally, the most astounding thing is that this Royal Messiah would be both a shoot from Jesse and the root of Jesse. He would be both one who comes from Jesse, and one from whom Jesse comes! The Messiah is the root cause of his own family tree.
This is an enigma, a mystery in the Old Testament that lies waiting for the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus explains this seemingly impossible mystery. As God, He is the One from whom Jesse and the Davidic line springs forth. As Man, He comes from Jesse’s linage.
Jesus is both a shoot from and the root of Jesse!
The Old Testament makes the impossible declarations about Jesus so that when we see them come true in the New Testament we might believe them and know that they are most certainly from God. For, only God could have done such a thing, and only God could have declared such a thing centuries before it happened.
